What’s It Take to Make the Playoffs in MLB?
The numbers say you need 88 wins to get in. In an article in the Business Insider it is noted that using 180 teams (since 1996) that 88 is the optimal number. Only sixteen teams have gotten in with less than 88 wins.
This makes for a dismal trade deadline as now more teams still think they have a shot to make it to the playoffs. Looking at the current landscape, twenty three teams can make it if they get hot like a 110-win team would do. That is a long shot.
With those numbers, that makes only seven teams that would be noted as “sellers” in the market. This is not a good thing for the major league trading deadline.